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Hundreds of so-far-unreleased photographs and short digital videos show US soldiers physically and emotionally abusing detainees last northern autumn in Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.

The new pictures and videos obtained by The Washington Post go beyond those previously seen by the public in several ways, amplifying the overt violence against detainees and displaying a variety of abusive techniques previously unseen. They show soldiers assaulting prisoners, forcing detainees to masturbate, and standing over a naked prisoner while holding a shotgun.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lawrence Di Rita, said the photographs sounded like those the military had exhibited to members of Congress and that the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had warned might yet become public. "There are a series of investigations going on as a result of the disclosure of the activities depicted on photos," Mr DiRita said.

The new images do not shed light on who directed the abuse, a question central to the court cases of the 372nd Military Police Company soldiers charged in the abuse scandal. But the pictures do show soldiers appearing to delight in the abuses, and they starkly reveal detainees cowering in fear.

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In one video clip, five hooded and naked detainees stand against the wall in the darkness, each masturbating, with two other hooded detainees crouched at their feet. Another shows a prisoner handcuffed to the outside of a cell door. He repeatedly slams his head into the green metal, leaving streaks of blood before he ultimately collapses at the feet of a cameraman.

In one photo, a soldier is seen brandishing a black baton as a naked prisoner - cuffed at the ankles and smeared with a brown substance - stands at the centre of the prison hallway and holds his arms spread to either side.

Men recoil from unmuzzled dogs in at least four photos.

The Post has also obtained statements taken from 13 detainees at the prison shortly after a soldier reported the incidents to military investigators in mid-January. The previously secret sworn statements describe in raw detail abuse that includes allegations of prisoners being ridden like animals, sexually fondled by female soldiers and forced to retrieve their food from toilets.

Some detainees described punishment after they were caught fighting or with a prohibited item. Some said they were pressed to denounce Islam or were force-fed pork and liquor. Many provided graphic details of how they were sexually humiliated and assaulted, threatened with rape, and forced to masturbate in front of female soldiers.

"They said we will make you wish to die and it will not happen," said Ameen Saeed Al-Sheik, detainee 151362. "They stripped me naked. One of them told me he would rape me. He drew a picture of a woman to my back and makes me stand in shameful position holding my buttocks."

Mr Hilas also said he witnessed an army translator having sex with a boy at the prison. He said the boy was between 15 and 18 years old. Mr Hilas said he watched the assault and told investigators that it was documented by a female soldier taking pictures.

"The kid was hurting very bad," he said.

Eight of the detainees identified by name a soldier at the centre of the abuse investigation, Specialist Charles Graner. Five others described abuse at the hands of a soldier who matches Graner's description.

So far, seven military police have been charged with brutalising detainees, and one, Specialist Jeremy Sivits, was jailed for a year on Wednesday after the first court martial in the affair.

However, two leaders of a military police unit have been restored to their command of the 372nd Military Policy Company even though an investigative report on the abuses compiled by Major-General Antonio Taguba recommended that Captain Donald Reese and First Sergeant Brian Lipinski be relieved of their commands for failing to supervise their soldiers properly.